Getting Older? Yes – but Make it Funny!

Reflections on Aging – and Why Humor is Essential

The reason why I am thinking so intensely about growing older right now is sad – and very close to home.
Our friend Holger, intelligent, with a fine sense of humor and a sharp eye on the world, was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago.
His wife Loni cared for him at home for as long as she could, until it was no longer possible. A few weeks ago, only one day after his 80th birthday, he passed away.

It didn’t just make me sad – it also made me reflective. About what aging does to us – and about how we can still keep our own voice, our curiosity, and our humor.

Or, as Ina Müller so aptly puts it:

“Better orange peel skin than no profile at all.“

I was born in 1951. That makes me 74.
The number alone sounds as if I should immediately take a seat in the waiting room of a medical supply store. When I read in the paper: „a 74-year-old woman…“, I can’t help but picture a figure – stooped, in a floral housecoat, without lipstick, stripped of any sense of style – and already on her way, in spirit, to the afternoon bingo game.

Only: I’m not in that movie.

From Desk Chair to Crosstrainer Pedal

A considerable part of my life played out between an office chair and the sofa – the usual daily madness. But on weekends, it was always: out the door, off we go. We never gave up travelling. Reinhold’s job took him around the globe, and I often tagged along in his luggage.

These days, I spend half an hour on the cross trainer each day. I’m not necessarily any fitter afterwards, but at least I’ve earned my cappuccino in good conscience.

If Life Leaves Marks, Let’s Just Call It Art.

Shrinking with Style

In the last twenty years, I’ve gone from 1.65 m down by a few centimeters. Luckily, in proportion.
With sunglasses on, I am sometimes still… well… optimistically mistaken on the street.

Spare Parts and Small Defects

Artificial lenses in my eyes, blood pressure tablets in the cupboard – the full senior package. Still, I consider myself a decent spare-parts model.
What no one told me, though: in old age, everything hurts. Back, shoulders, neck – and especially the right knee when going upstairs, without me having the faintest idea why. Honestly, I wouldn’t even know how to injure it in the first place.

The Gray Days

“Then something rises within me, which I receive with closed eyes and call by its name: Sadness – come, Sadness.”
– Françoise Sagan

The topic of depression in old age is suddenly everywhere.
Yes, I know those days when a leaden blanket seems to settle over everything. Those moments when you wonder: Why get up at all?

Answer: Because I am no ostrich. Never have been. I don’t stick my head in the sand.
I’ve never been much of a daydreamer, but I’ve always been a fighter. Life goes on – and everything will be fine.

A Bus Full of Old People

I remember my mother, back in her seventies. Once, she took a bus trip organized for a sales event – electric blankets or something like that. When she came back, she was quite disillusioned – not because of the blankets, but because of the clientele: “Never again,” she said. “A bus full of old people. Horrible.”
I found it hilarious at the time – because to me, she already belonged to them.

Everything Passes – And Faster Than You Think

Strangely enough: as you get older, the days stretch like chewing gum – and yet the year races by. You turn around once, and suddenly, instead of February, it’s October again.
Maybe it’s simply because, with age, you feel time differently – and the months vanish as if in passing.

Sometimes I wish I could trip time – just long enough to take a deep breath. In the past, I often forgot to notice the moment. Today, I like to grab it by the shoulders – yet it still slips away.

My cousin Bernd and I: Back then, we had no idea that life would hold more questions than answers. 

Without a Plan – And Still on the Move

Even at 74, I sometimes catch myself wishing for someone to just hand me the map and say, “That way.”
Often, Reinhold is that someone – but sometimes he also needs someone to hand him the plan.

Maybe that’s exactly the key: you don’t have to know everything. You can set off without a master plan, as long as you stay curious, stay healthy – and are ready to laugh at yourself. Preferably so loudly that the neighbors think you’re having a little party.

And Then There’s Inge

Our friend Inge lives 900 kilometers away – we almost only talk on the phone. And yet, she is my personal motivator.
Once wealthy and married, she has been living alone for many years now, modestly, in a small rented apartment – and to me, she is the very embodiment of optimism.

Yesterday, she told me laughing that her sister had asked how she planned to celebrate her birthday in October.
“Why should I celebrate my birthday?” – “Well, you’re turning 88, after all!”
Inge had to do the math first.

Every conversation with her is like a little boost of energy – and I always pocket a piece of her zest for life. Encounters like that – near or far – are the best reminder to me that aging can also be light.

Inge: Optimism, served with a touch of rosé.

“Si la jeunesse savait…”

“If youth but knew, if age but could.”

For a long time, I thought of this as just a nice saying. Today I know: it means taking life as it is. Loving it as best you can. Because there’s no second chance.

I’m an optimist. I have no reason to complain: a caring partner – my dream man for over three decades (and yes, I’d marry him again) – well-brought-up children, wonderful grandchildren – even if they live far too far away.

Growing Older — And Doing It Well

Growing older has many beautiful sides. We still want to see, feel, and experience so much. And I hope that someday someone will write the ultimate guide:
„How to grow old free of aches and pains, in good health — and gladly.“

The future will come on its own – I’ll just walk toward it.